I make this mistake every year… I plant my sprouts, mulch them, protect them from slugs and then put a net over them and forget about them for the summer. After all, they won’t be ready till Christmas.
In autumn, I notice that the plants have got quite big underneath the netting, and I think it’s good to have a look and see how they’re doing. That’s when I nearly always see that some small sprouts have begun to form on one or two plants, and that slugs and/or snails have eaten them.
This year, I am happy to report, I caught it early – only 3 or 4 sprouts on just one plant. I still have time to grow perfectly round sprouts for Christmas. After doing a proper inspection, there are a few very small snails hiding in the main leaves at the top of the plant – I assume they sneak out at night to eat the leaves on the sprouts themselves. I’ve done as thorough job as I can at removing the snails that were hiding, and I’ve put down fresh beer traps in that bed. I will be checking more frequently from now on!!
If you’re growing sprouts, then I’d suggest giving them a once over, just in case any slugs and snails have been nibbling them. Mine are quite early to come out, so yours might not be forming yet, but definitely a good idea to check anyway!!